


I Had No Chance

by Ellsey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellsey/pseuds/Ellsey
Summary: Bobbi and Hunter are bartenders who often put on small competitions for tips. When their boss offers up a grand prize of a trip to Cancun after a week of competition, Bobbi is ready to win it all.
Relationships: Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: AOS AU August 2020





	I Had No Chance

**Author's Note:**

> AOS Ship It All day 11 is Huntingbird, and I followed up with my AU August moodboard that I made but didn't have time to write then!

“Evening Bobbi.”

Bobbi waved at her boss, Mack. “Hey there. Have a good day?”

Mack smiled. “Same old, same old.”

“Well that sounds good to me.” Bobbi put up her stuff as Mack got up to leave. “Have a good night.”

“I plan on it,” Mack said, then he turned and walked out.

Bobbi walked out to the bar area where she would be working. Her co-worker was already there.

“How’s it going Hunter?” Bobbi asked as she put out her tip jar.

“Just getting ready for the evening rush.” Hunter pointed to her tip jar. “So, what are we doing for tips tonight?”

Bobbi and Hunter had a long running tip competition. Most of the time they just tried to use their charm to get the most tips, but sometimes they came up with ideas to compete. Like the time they dressed up in their sexiest Halloween costumes. Bobbi easily won that night. Hunter meanwhile excelled at making random cocktails for people. He had some magical ability to be able to predict what drink people would like best.

After thinking for a moment, Bobbi said, “We can’t actually ask for tips. The person with the most tips without soliciting them wins.”

Hunter grinned. “That is downright evil, and I absolutely love it.”

Bobbi felt a slight flutter in her stomach, but she worked to quickly squash it down. The first time she had met Hunter, she had him solved. She could tell he was cocky and self-assured, and he was. But the longer she worked with him, the more she learned that he was smart and thoughtful and kind. 

He was also very hot, but she had known that from the start.

Over time they had become very good friends, and the reason Bobbi loved her job was probably in large part due to Hunter. Their little competitions also helped Bobbi learn a lot about herself and him. For example, Bobbi learned that her unspoken communications skills were vastly better than Hunter’s. His tip jar may have been full this night, but hers was positively overflowing.

“Well, I should have figured that you were better at batting your eyes than me,” Hunter said.

“Yeah, you should have.”

Hunter looked like he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Finally he said, “Well, see you tomorrow.”

“See ya,” she echoed.

The next day she got a text from Mack asking her to come in early to talk with him. She spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what she had done wrong until she got to work and saw that Hunter was there early too.

He looked surprised to see her. “Any idea what this is about?” he asked.

“No clue,” Bobbi said.

They went into Mack’s office, and he looked up at them.

“Hey guys, I’ll make this quick. Work has spread about your little tip competitions. You seem to be getting quite an audience.”

Bobbi looked at Hunter. Great. They were about to get fired.

“Honestly, I love it. I’m sure you guys have noticed the increase in receipts. So I’d like to up the ante. You guys are going to do 6 nights of challenges, and the person with the most tips at the end of those 6 days gets a trip for two to Cancun. We’ll advertise it for a bit to get the word out, and then it’s game on.” Mack smiled at them. “Sound good?”

Bobbi let out the breath she had been holding in. “It sounds great to me. Hunter?”

“I’m already packing my bags,” Hunter replied.

“Packing your bags to go stay at a friend’s house while I’m sunning on the beach? Good idea,” Bobbi said.

“Try again. I’m winning.”

Mack waved a hand to stop them. “I’ll take that as a yes Hunter. I’ll let you guys know when I have the final dates and challenges.”

“You’re deciding them?” Bobbi asked, surprised.

“It’s more fair that way,” Mack said. “Now then, get to work you two. Those drinks won’t pour themselves.”

Mack did an amazing job of marketing the competition. By the week it was happening, Bobbi felt excited. The anticipation had been building among their regulars, and even some of Bobbi’s friends had vowed to make an appearance.

The first two nights were things they had done before and excelled at. Night one was guessing people’s drinks. Bobbi knew she was bound to lose to Hunter on that night. Night two belonged to Bobbi though because they had to sing everyone’s orders back to them. Hunter, while enthusiastic, wasn’t exactly a great musician. Bobbi though was fantastic, so she felt confident she had won that night.

Hunter complained after the singing competition. “I had no chance. You are gorgeous and have an amazing voice. So unfair.”

“You think I’m gorgeous?”

“As if that is a surprise to you,” Hunter said with a roll of his eyes. “By the way, I notice that I gave you more than one compliment, and that’s the one you focused on. Vain much?”

“You’re just upset that I didn’t immediately respond with, ‘You’re gorgeous too Hunter.’”

“Am not.”

Bobbi turned to walk out the door. “You’re gorgeous too Hunter,” she said without looking back.

Night three turned out to be a bit complicated. Mack said that they had to take orders for the other one. This allowed them to sabotage orders as they saw fit. Bobbi was scared that the customers would leave less tips because of this, but the truth was they seemed to think it was hilarious. They were all laughing and leaving very large tips. Bobbi was relieved.

For night four, they had to answer trivia questions from the customer. Bobbi felt sure this was her time to shine. She had an amazing memory and was able to recall so many random facts at the drop of a hat. And she was right. She blew people away with her knowledge, including Hunter.

“That was pretty impressive, what you did tonight,” Hunter said.

“What? Recite pointless information that I retain for no reason?”

Hunter shrugged. “Well, when you put it that way it’s remarkably less so. But you know what they say, smart is sexy.”

Bobbi just watched him leave, unable to think of anything to say in response.

Night five was very interesting to Bobbi. Mack told them that everything they said had to rhyme. This required a lot of quick thinking. Bobbi was pretty impressed when she spontaneously came up with:

You ordered a beer,

That’s good to hear,

I’ll get it for you,

Unless you want two?

Well, she was impressed with it until she heard Hunter. It turned out he was some kind of poet or something. By the end of the night he was straight up writing sonnets and limericks for the customers. Bobbi sighed. There was no way she was beating him tonight. 

But she also kind of wished she was on the receiving end of one of his poems. 

The final night of competition was simple. The person who filled the most orders won. The bar was hopping that night, with everyone wanting to know who won the competition. Mack had even stayed to keep track of things and announce the winner. The atmosphere was electric, full of excitement and anticipation.

Bobbi was so busy through the night that she didn’t have time to think. She just made drink after drink after drink. Finally Mack declared the competition at an end. It was time to announce the winner.

Mack counted the last orders and did a few calculations while everyone waited. He smiled slowly as he looked at the numbers, then cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“You all are not going to believe this,” he started, “but it’s a tie.”

Bobbi and Hunter looked at each other then back at Mack. “A tie for tonight’s orders?” Bobbi asked.

“No,” Mack said. “A tie for the entire competition.”

“What?” Hunter barked. “How?”

“Well the numbers are the same,” Bobbi said. “That’s what a tie means.”

“I know what a tie means Bob…”

“We all know what a tie means,” Mack cut in. “The question is, what does it mean in this instance?” Mack thought for a moment while everyone in the bar listened silently. “Here’s what I’ve decided. It’s a trip for two, you guys tied, so you’re both going on the trip. Together.”

Bobbi’s jaw dropped, but she was unable to say anything.

“What do you say Bobbi, want to take a sexy trip with me?” Hunter asked her.

“Who says it’s going to be sexy?” Bobbi said.

“Look at me, look at you, really there’s no other way it could be.”

“Don’t you think you should at least ask me to dinner first?”

Hunter gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

“I would love to,” Bobbi said. “We can discuss the trip later.”

The entire bar cheered. Bobbi had a hard time hiding her excitement. She knew that her attraction to Hunter had been growing for a while now, but she had thought there was no way he was interested. She realized that there was a small chance she had been wrong. This was a very good thing.

Of course, that didn’t mean that she was going to let Mack off the hook when she heard him mumbling, “Finally. I knew that would work.”

But she’d get to that later. For now she was going to enjoy the moment.

  
  



End file.
